Back in Mississippi, Big mama would make us a big batch of vanilla ice cream churning it old school style with ice and some elbow grease. My homemade vanilla ice cream gets as close to her original as humanly possible. I use a mix of heavy cream and half and half to make it extra rich. To really bring out that vanilla flavor, I added pure vanilla extract and vanilla bean paste (because one just wasn’t enough). Just know that I kept all of big mama’s soul and bomb flavor just like the OG.
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Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe Ingredients
- Eggs & Yolks: This recipe needs 2 large eggs and 4 yolks.
- Sugar: I use granulated.
- Heavy Cream: You can use full-fat coconut cream if you need it dairy-free.
- Half and Half: Whole milk works too, or any non-dairy milk like oat or almond.
- All-Purpose Flour: Big Mama always added a pinch to thicken it. You can use cornstarch instead.
- Vanilla Extract: Pure extract only to make the best homemade vanilla ice cream, boos. No imitation!
- Vanilla Paste: I use Nielsen Massey’s vanilla bean paste. It’s a little pricey but sooo worth it. Any brand works, tho. And if you don’t have paste, just use more extract.
How To Make This Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe
Mix and Heat the Custard
Step 1: Add eggs and egg yolks to a medium-sized bowl.
Step 2: Beat them together.
Step 3: Add sugar to the bowl.
Step 4: Whisk together.
Step 5: Add heavy cream and half and half to a large saucepan and heat gently; do not let come to a boil.
Step 6: Temper eggs by slowly pour 1 cup of hot heavy cream mixture into egg mixture.
Step 7: Whisk quickly. This will raise the temperature of the eggs carefully without scrambling them.
Step 8: While stirring, pour the tempered egg mixture slowly into the remaining heavy cream mixture in the saucepan.
Step 9: Gently heat ice cream base over medium-low heat, stirring constantly (especially the corners of the pot), until thickened and reaches 170F on a digital thermometer. The mixture should look silky and coat the back of a spoon so when you run your finger through it, it doesn’t come back together.
Step 10: Remove from heat and add a small pinch of flour and vanilla.
Chill the Custard and Churn It!
Step 11: Strain through a fine-mesh sieve (to catch any cooked egg pieces).
Step 12: Chill in an ice bath (a bowl set inside of a bowl of ice water) until it’s cooled to room temperature.
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Step 13: Cover with plastic wrap and move into the refrigerator until completely cold.
Step 14: Once completely cooled, add your mixture to an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Step 15: Freeze.
Step 16: Scoop the ice cream, add sprinkles, and enjoy!
Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe
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I’ll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
Ingredients
- 2 large large eggs
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 2 cups half and half
- pinch of all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons vanilla paste
Instructions
- Beat eggs and egg yolks in a medium sized bowl. Next add sugar to the bowl and whisk together.
- Add heavy cream and half and half to a large saucepan and heat gently; do not let come to a boil.
- Temper eggs by slowly pour 1 cup of hot heavy cream mixture into egg mixture while whisking quickly. This will raise the temperature of the eggs carefully without scrambling them. Then while stirring, pour the tempered egg mixture slowly into the remaining heavy cream mixture in the saucepan.
- Gently heat ice cream base over medium low heat, stirring constantly (especially the corners of the pot), until thickened and reaches 170F on a digital thermometer. The mixture should look silky and coat the back of a spoon so when you run your finger through it, it doesn’t come back together.
- Remove from heat and add small pinch of flour and vanilla.
- Strain through a fine-mesh sieve (to catch any cooked egg pieces) and chill in an ice bath (a bowl set inside of a bowl of ice water) until it’s cooled to room temperature. Then cover with plastic wrap and move into the refrigerator until completely cold, about 2-3 hours.
- Once completely cooled, add your mixture to an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions and freeze.
Notes
- Cool the custard completely. Don’t rush it boos! if it’s even a little warm, you’ll end up with melted soup in your machine instead of creamy ice cream.
- Temper the eggs slowly. Drizzle that hot cream in real slow while whisking fast. This keeps the eggs smooth and custardy, not scrambled.
- Strain the custard. Please don’t skip this. Even if you think you nailed the custard, straining guarantees a silky-smooth base.
- Freeze the bowl ahead. Pop the bowl of your ice cream maker in the freezer for 15 to 24 hours before using. If it’s not solid, your ice cream won’t churn right.
Nutrition
Recipe Tips
- Freeze your ice cream maker bowl in advance. It should chill for 15-24 hours before churning. If it’s not frozen solid, the ice cream won’t set. This is VERY important boos!
- Temper your eggs. Drizzle the hot cream in slow while whisking fast. This keeps the eggs smooth and not scrambled.
- Strain the custard. Please, for the love of ice cream, don’t skip it. It catches any cooked egg bits and keeps the base silky.
- Cool your custard completely. It needs to be cold before churning or you’ll end up with sweet soup, not creamy vanilla ice cream.
Serving Ideas
- Toppings: Pile it high with rainbow sprinkles (my fave), crushed Oreos, mini peanut butter cups, chocolate ganache, caramel sauce, strawberry sauce, toffee bits, fresh fruit, or a handful of chopped pecans or walnuts.
- Brownies: Scoop it over a warm skillet brownie, chewy brownies, or blondies for the ultimate dessert mashup.
- Pound Cakes: Perfect with a slice of chocolate pound cake, cranberry bundt cake, or my five flavor pound cake for a sweet and creamy combo.
- Pies: Add a scoop on top of warm peach cobbler, apple pie, sweet potato pie, or pecan pie.
- Cookies: Sandwich it between chocolate chip cookies, chocolate sugar cookies, or shortbread for a homemade vanilla ice cream sandwich!
Recipe Help
YES! Immediately remove it from the heat and pour it into a blender or use an immersion blender. Blend it until smooth, then strain it through a fine-mesh sieve. The texture might not be exactly the same, but it’ll still taste yum.
You can, but it’s hard work boos. After chilling the custard, pour it into a shallow pan and freeze. Every 30 minutes, stir it vigorously with a fork or whisk to break up the ice crystals. Do this until it firms up, about 3 hours.
Let your ice cream sit out at room temp for 5-10 minutes before scooping. Run your scoop under hot water, then dry it off. It’ll glide right through like butter!
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grandbaby! of all the food that you had from your grandmother ,what was your all time FAVERITE!!
Definitely my big mama’s peach cobbler!
We’re having a family cookout mid July and I’m in charge of bread and most importantly desserts. My mom made tutti fruitee (fruit cocktail) in a vanilla base. A crank ice cream maker was used. Could you provide me with ingredient amounts of your recipe for this amount to be used? My sister requested I make the ice cream. I know my mom used some canned milk in her ice cream base. But I want to use your recipe. Never really liked my mom’s tutti fruitee ice cream. So I can make it better with a custard base. Can’t wait to try it. Promise I won’t secretly spit out the fruit cocktail pieces!!
Hi Sha, I have not made this recipe with a hand crank ice cream maker. You can find all the ingredients in the recipe card at the bottom of the post though, right above the comments. I hope everyone enjoys!
This recipe is absolutely amazing!!!! We’ve made this with our girls and have enjoyed the process and the result. This recipe has become a staple in our house each week with dessert. Thank you for sharing your talents!!!!
I’m not sure if this is still a viable site, however, I’m taking the chance that it is.
I love homemade ice cream and have tried several variations to get a good base. Lately, I have resorted to a custard base, blending the sugar/egg mixture with milk mixture, cooking until thickened. I was a little skeptical with this recipe when there were no instructions to cook, but, I too had a “Big Momma”. In addition, I have never seen or made a recipe that added flour and the vanilla prior to freezing. To make this post the best it can be, my ice cream from before has always been icy and/or ver hard after freezing….to the point of not being able to scoop it…NOT THIS ONE!!! WHAT A DELIGHT!!! It is perfect in texture and oh so very good. I stumbled on this site looking for a fresh strawberry pound cake recipe. I found it as well as this recipe for the best homemade ice cream ever. I won’t say I’ll never buy ice cream again, but why when you can easily make it!! THANK YOU for sharing…!!,
I made this ice cream, it I use one can of pet milk in place of some of the half and half and it came out great.My mother use to use pet milk back in the day.
What is an alternative to vanilla paste and will recipe be ok in my Ice cream maker? Perfect timing for bday social at work tomorrow!!❤️
You can use just more vanilla extract.
Oh my, this looks so yummy! You know I was sold as soon as I saw it was a Big Mama recipe. 🙂 And on peach pie to boot… Definitely gonna make this when I get back from vacation.
Hooray yet both together are magic!